Chelsea have signed Colombia international striker Mayra Ramirez from Liga F side Levante.
The 24-year-old has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Women’s Super League (WSL) side.
The Athletic reported on Thursday that Ramirez was set to sign for Chelsea. Speaking on the move, Ramirez said: “‘I am very honoured to be a part of Chelsea.
“To be part of such a huge club is a dream come true and one I’ve had since I was a little girl.”
The versatile forward, who played a key role in helping her country progress to the quarter-finals of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, has scored six times in seven appearances for Spanish club Levante this season.
Ramirez, who joined Levante from Huelva in the summer of 2022, has helped fire her side to second in the Primera Division, behind Barcelona.
The move comes after striker Sam Kerr sustained an anterior cruciate knee ligament (ACL) injury during a warm-weather training camp in Morocco earlier this month.
The 30-year-old Australia international will be out for an extended period after undergoing surgery on the injury, with manager Emma Hayes saying: “I’m gutted for her and gutted for the team. These things happen in football and she knows that.
“The important thing is that we are here to support her.”
Fellow Chelsea forward Cat Macario is also still recovering from an ACL injury she sustained during a Lyon game in June 2022. The USWNT international has not played since.
Kerr, meanwhile, has agreed a deal in principle to extend her Chelsea contract beyond June, when her previous terms are due to expire, but the Women’s Super League side are selling midfielder Jessie Fleming to NWSL side Portland Thorns.
Chelsea are next in action against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Women’s Super League on Saturday.
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